heating

[iteldoo4me]

Does anyone know how I can heat my radiators apart the conventional way through my calorifier / Webasto heater,ie through my engine hot water? If so would they get in touch please,many thanks.

[TeeELL]

Firstly, I presume you do not intend to try and run your radiators from 2 sources. OK, here goes - my Yanmar engine has a secondary hot water source which I use to heat a towel heater (it does other things but that is not relevant). So, if you have the option of a second feed from your engine, you could run a radiator. HOWEVER, I think you might be dissappointed with the results especially when, as soon as the engine is turned off, the heat dissipates. My findings - after a couple of hours cruising the engine will have supplied me with hot water (through the calorifier) and a fairly hot towel rad. I am going out for a 3 day cruise next week and I will try and do an assessment of the systems effectiveness for you.

[Guest]

I have wondered about using the "free" heat from the engine to heat the cabin rear.

I had thought about this:

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.co.uk/V...photo/60210.jpg

 

A 6Kw blower type cab heater at £150-00

Quite expensive but perhaps one out of a large van from the breakers would work?

Edited February 20, 2006 by Guest

[dor]

Not sure if this what you had in mind, but:

 

I have a twin-coil calorifier. I've fitted 22mm full flow ball valves on the pipes from the boiler to the calorifier coil and the cabin radiators (with bathroom radiator always on).

 

By adjusting the flow through the coil and the radiators using the boiler pump, but with boiler not alight, I can get reasonably hot radiators by heating the water in the calorifier from the engine and using this to heat up the water in the radiator circuit.

 

Useful when you are cruising on a cold day as you effectively warm up the cabin on free heat, as otherwise it would just be warming up the canal.

 

Boiler is an Alde.

[Guest]

Not sure if this what you had in mind, but:

 

I have a twin-coil calorifier. I've fitted 22mm full flow ball valves on the pipes from the boiler to the calorifier coil and the cabin radiators (with bathroom radiator always on).

 

By adjusting the flow through the coil and the radiators using the boiler pump, but with boiler not alight, I can get reasonably hot radiators by heating the water in the calorifier from the engine and using this to heat up the water in the radiator circuit.

 

Useful when you are cruising on a cold day as you effectively warm up the cabin on free heat, as otherwise it would just be warming up the canal.

 

Boiler is an Alde.

DOR

Do you mean that you are transferring heat through the calorifier, from the "engine" coil to the second coil which then feeds the rads? I pondered on this since I have a coil in the calorifier doing nothing.

[dor]

Cat:

 

Yes; basically it is using the calorifier as a heat exchanger. There is more than enough heat from the engine when going cruising, which will heat the water in the calorifier to approaching 90 degC. This is more than enough to heat up 4 rads on the boat.

 

I find I have to jiggle the flow rates a bit ot get it to work well, otherwise the pump just short-circuits round the boiler/calorifier route and not enough goes trough the radiators. This will depend on the actual layout of the plumbing.

[bottle]

Hi Catweasel

 

Yes, if you have a coil that is not doing anything.

 

At the moment your calorifer is heated by the first coil if you then run a pumped circuit on the second coil to say a radiator the calorifier will heat the second coil so heating the radiator.

 

but as to the amount of heat from the radiator I do not know.

 

You are just using the tank as a heat exchange

[Guest]

Hmmmm......

Have got a spare pump in garage, and rads are so cheap now. Might be worth a play.

Thanks for comments.

[david and julie]

Not sure if this what you had in mind, but:

 

I have a twin-coil calorifier. I've fitted 22mm full flow ball valves on the pipes from the boiler to the calorifier coil and the cabin radiators (with bathroom radiator always on).

 

By adjusting the flow through the coil and the radiators using the boiler pump, but with boiler not alight, I can get reasonably hot radiators by heating the water in the calorifier from the engine and using this to heat up the water in the radiator circuit.

 

Useful when you are cruising on a cold day as you effectively warm up the cabin on free heat, as otherwise it would just be warming up the canal.

 

Boiler is an Alde.

 

Alde actually make a separate heat exchanger for their boilers.

 

Unfortunately their site is down at the moment, however I enquired a few week back and have the info at home. Basically you leave the boiler on and its pump circulates the water through the heat exchange using engine heat to save gas. I believe they are more efficient than the calorifier as a calorifier is designed to heat a larger volume with a small coil whereas the heat exchanger is the opposite way round.

 

I have not plucked up the courage to ask for a price yet but you can buy them direct from Alde rather than a retailer.